Helias Catholic High School will be implementing a series of faculty changes - including eliminating some positions and hiring a person to work with special-needs students - in order to improve the school's financial circumstances, according to a press release issued Friday.
The Catholic community held a meeting Thursday evening in the school's library to discuss, and gain feedback on, the proposed changes.
In a memo released Friday, Helias President Stephen Jones said the school's tuition rate covers approximately 70 percent of the total cost of a Helias education.
"As a result of our efforts to keep tuition as low as possible, we have had to rely on a portion of our reserve funding for a number of years to cover deficits in the school budget," Jones wrote. "As you can imagine, this is not something we can continue to do, and it certainly presents us with some challenging decisions."
Diocese of Jefferson City Bishop John Gaydos appointed Jones as president in June 2013 with the mandate he work toward balancing the school's budget and cease relying on reserves.
Jones wrote he was able to make a dent in the deficit last year by cutting back on unnecessary spending. He estimated the school is dealing with a $400,000 annual deficit; although half of that is ameliorated by interest earned on the school's reserve fund, the remainder has to be made up either through cuts or revenue increases.
"This year, we will need to make more cuts. Last Friday, I notified several members of our staff that their positions were being eliminated or reduced, or that their contracts would not be renewed in order to accomplish the goals of this restructuring," Jones said.
He did not state which people or positions were cut, but noted about four positions - both full- and part-time - were affected.
"This is the most difficult aspect of my position, and I wanted to let these folks know about these decisions well in advance of contracts being offered next month so they would have plenty of time to pursue other options for employment," he added.
The school's plan is to make the cuts slowly over time, Jones said. He also noted the cuts will not fully remedy the situation.
"Part of being good stewards of the funds entrusted to us means knowing when to cut back and knowing when to add programs and structures that will attract more students and improve services," he wrote.
He said, to improve retention rates, he believes it is necessary to offer additional educational services.
One of the changes is the creation of a full-time "special accommodations coordinator" who will help the school retain teenagers who face academic challenges and who may be prone to transferring to other schools.
"We feel it is important to assist in better meeting the needs of these students, while fostering a safe, faith-based, learning environment," Jones wrote. "By reaching out in this way, we hope to attract students who may feel like they cannot thrive at Helias for various reasons related to academics.
"We want these students to be able to excel and contribute to the diversity of our student body - both inside the classroom and in the community at large."
Once hired, the new coordinator will create a system of peer mentoring, which will ask advanced students to help those who are struggling with school, who have been diagnosed with learning disabilities or who have special needs. The new coordinator will also be a liaison between the student and the faculty, as well as between the parents and the administration.
The new job - which involves the elimination of the school's half-time special needs counselor - is expected to be posted within the next few weeks.
Helias has 675 students currently enrolled, a decline from previous eras, but not a significant one, Jones said. He noted the growth of Calvary Lutheran High School and Father Tolton Catholic High School have attracted students who formerly might have chosen Helias.
Jones said he's interested in attracting students who struggle academically or who have learning disabilities.
"I think we've got a significant number of students whose families might otherwise send them to Helias, but we lack a formal program," he said. "Anything we can do to bridge that gap and bring them in the door is good."
He also said he's interested in reaching out to non-Catholic families looking for educational alternatives.
"We want to open up our doors to people of good will," he said.